Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, on Oct. 4.POOL/Reuters
More than two years since his conviction for rape and criminal sexual assault in New York, Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood producer whose downfall marked a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement, faces a second sex-crimes trial in Los Angeles.
Opening statements are expected Monday in the trial, which was once seen as largely symbolic because Weinstein, 70, still has 21 years left to serve in prison after his 2020 conviction. But the stakes of the Los Angeles trial are higher after a recent decision by New York’s highest court to allow Weinstein to appeal that conviction.
If Weinstein wins in New York, the Los Angeles trial will determine whether or not he walks free. Weinstein faces a life sentence in California if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.
What are the charges?
Weinstein, who has been accused by more than 90 women of sexual misconduct, faces 11 charges in his Los Angeles trial, which began with jury selection two weeks ago and which is expected to last six to eight weeks total.
The charges include four counts each of rape and forcible oral copulation involving five women between 2004 and 2013 in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. More women are expected to testify in Los Angeles than in Weinstein’s first trial.
Weinstein also faces one count of sexual penetration with a foreign object by force and two counts of sexual battery by restraint, according to the March 2021 indictment, which identified the accusers as Jane Does 1 through 5.
Who will testify?
Over the course of the trial, about 80 witnesses are expected to take the stand, including the five Jane Does.
Among them is Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a 2017 HuffPost essay, Siebel Newsom said she once faced Weinstein’s “aggressive advances” in a hotel room. Her lawyer said this month that she was one of the women testifying in the trial.
Lauren Young, a model and actress, has disclosed through her lawyer that she also is among the Jane Does. During Weinstein’s 2020 trial, she testified that he had “trapped” and assaulted her in a bathroom. The other three Jane Does remain anonymous. Many of the other witnesses will be identified only by their first name and last initial.
Lisa B. Lench, the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge presiding over the case, also has allowed four witnesses who, under California law, are permitted to appear to establish a defendant’s pattern of behavior.
The anonymous 12-person jury, nine men and three women, were seated Thursday. They were chosen from a pool of more than 150 people, and questioned by both the defense and prosecution about their familiarity with Weinstein’s New York trial and their knowledge of the #MeToo movement.
Although the exact ages and racial makeup of the group remain unclear, some of the jurors shared thoughts on the case during the in-person selection.
One juror, a man whose daughter is an attorney, said he held some reservations about the lack of DNA evidence in a sexual assault case. Another juror said that he had no concerns about backlash from friends and family should he deliver a “not guilty” verdict.
What happened at the New York trial?
During his 2020 trial at the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, six women testified that Weinstein, who had long reigned as one of the most influential producers in Hollywood, had sexually assaulted them.
The criminal charges rested on the complaints of two women: Miriam Haley, a production assistant who said he had forced oral sex on her in 2006; and Jessica Mann, a former actress who said Weinstein had raped her at a hotel in 2013. Jurors were also asked to consider testimony from four other women who said Weinstein had assaulted them.
On Feb. 24, 2020, the jury convicted Weinstein of rape and criminal sexual act but acquitted him on three other counts, including the two most serious charges against him: predatory sexual assault. The next month, the New York judge who presided over the trial sentenced Weinstein to 23 years in prison.
What does the Los Angeles trial mean for the #MeToo movement?
Although the answer to that is unclear, some fear that an acquittal could deter others who have experienced sexual assault from coming forward, especially in light of what many described as an anti-feminist backlash surrounding the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial. (In that defamation case, Heard accused Depp of sexual assault, which he denied.)
However, other supporters of #MeToo say that five years since the movement spread across the globe, its success can be hard to measure and cannot be determined by any one trial, or the downfall of any one male celebrity with accusations leveled against him.
They also note that just a handful of women will testify at Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial and that those claims must be limited within the strict confines of criminal law.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.